This invention relates to a camper tie-down assembly which will absorb shock under various road conditions and which permits ease in adjusting or releasing the camper from the vehicle.
Over the years various campers have been designed to fit onto the bed of a pick-up truck. In order to keep the camper from dislodging itself from the bed, various tie-downs have been developed including such devices as shown in the patents to Weiler U.S. Pat. No. 3,368,785, Kay U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,910, Henson U.S. Pat. No. 3,337,259, Kirchbaum U.S. Pat. No. 3,655,234, Butler U.S. Pat. No. 716,666, Norrish U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,460, Covert 3,706,469 and Palm U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,382. Many of these references use a turnbuckle for adjusting tension, but none allow for shock absorbing means, and require considerable time for installation of the camper on the vehicle.
It is an object of this invention to provide a camper tie-down assembly which absorb shock during travel of the vehicle over various types of terrain and the like.
Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a tie-down assembly which can be adjusted in a timely fashion and which permits ease in installation of the camper on the vehicle as well as ease in removal therefrom.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a camper tie-down assembly which will not cause injury to the vehicle body styling such as damage to the body paint and alignment.
A further object of this invention is to reduce road fatigue on parts of the assembly as well as reduced fatigue on the connector built into the camper.
Still a further object of this invention is to provide a camper tie-down assembly which does not require tension readjustment and which permits equal and constant downward pressure on all sides of the camper and vehicle while permitting flexing of several inches downwardly and upwardly (preferably about 3 inches) during travel of the vehicle over rough terrain or the like.
Still a further object of this invention is to eliminate the need for turn buckles which frequently come loose or are vandalized in parking lots.
A further object of this invention is to provide a time saving mechanism which shortens the installation time by eliminating turn buckles which require considerable installation time.
Still another object of this invention is to make it easy to adjust the leveling of a camper at a campsite on which the vehicle is not parked horizontally and may be on a slope or the like.
In addition, a further object is to provide a tie-down which has general application for holding down various loads on trucks or the like including pallets, lumber, truck tops, and other equipment such as used on flat bed truck trailers or the like.
Another object of this invention is to provide a simple tie-down mechanism which is durable, requiring few parts, providing a quick 1-bolt removal of spring for non-use/storage and is inexpensive and easily manufactured.
In summary, this invention pertains to a camper tie-down assembly or the like which utilizes a spring lever which flexes in a vertical direction to take up road shock and which permits ease in installation.
The advantages of this invention will be apparent from a review of the following description and drawings which are as follows: